High performance liquid chromatography profiling of health-promoting phytochemicals and evaluation of antioxidant, anti-lipoxygenase, iron chelating and anti-glucosidase activities of wetland macrophytes

Background: The phytochemistry and bioactivity of wetland macrophytes are underexplored. Plants are known as the natural sources of phytochemical beneficial to health. Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze the phytochemical profiles and bioactivities of 10 extracts prepared from different plant parts of wetland macrophytes Hanguana malayana, Ludwigia adscendens and Monochoria hastata. Materials and Methods: High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyze the phytochemical profile of the extracts. Antioxidant assay such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power were performed. Bioactivity assays carried out were anti-lipoxygenase, anti-glucosidase, and iron chelating. Results: Leaf extract of L. adscendens had the highest 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (half of maximal effective concentration [EC ₅₀ ] =0.97 mg/mL) and NO (EC ₅₀ = 0.31 mg/mL) scavenging activities. The extract also exhibited the highest iron chelating (EC ₅₀ = 3.24 mg/mL) and anti-glucosidase (EC ₅₀ = 27.5 μg/mL) activities. The anti-glucosidase activity of L. adscendens leaf extract was comparable or superior to those of acarbose, myricetin and quercetin. Correlation between iron chelating and radical scavenging activities among the extracts implies the presence of dual-function phytoconstituents with concurrent iron chelating and radical scavenging activities. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of p-coumaric acid (p-CA), gallic acid (GA) and myricetin in all or most extracts. M. hastata fruit and leaf extracts had the highest p-hydroxybenzoic acid content. Antioxidant and anti-glucosidase activities of the extracts were correlated with p-CA, GA, and myricetin contents. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that wetland macrophytes H. malayana, L. adscendens and M. hastata are potential sources of health-promoting phytochemicals with potent therapeutically-relevant bioactivities.